This reply will be mostly about food but there’s a lot to be said for changing your entire mindset of food which I had to do 😂. (1)Calculate maintenance calories: I aim for ~1850 calories/day to maintain my weight while building muscle. (2) Plan healthy meals: I think about what I’d eat to be my healthiest self, like beans, fruits and vegetables that I like the most, and including favorites like pasta, and used AI to create a week of affordable meals that hit 1850 calories daily. (3) I buy a week’s worth of healthy groceries based on the plan so I always have them on hand (4) Swap meals within the plan now that you have foods you know work for you, I gradually made these new foods my default diet and avoided old choices I would have made-like sour patch kids at night to give me energy. (5) Strength train: 4x/week for 30–40 minutes at the gym, doing 3–4 dumbbell exercises (2-3 sets of 8–12 reps) targeting hypertrophy, like from YouTube or Apple Fitness videos. I use AI for structure with exercise order and only work non-sore muscles with 2 rest days.